


Still Made of Gold

by Gay_as_fuck



Category: Twin Peaks
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternative Universe - FBI, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Audrey Horne Deserves Better, But only a little, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Male-Female Friendship, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, Trauma, but minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 16:03:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14047842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gay_as_fuck/pseuds/Gay_as_fuck
Summary: Audrey Horne decides that after hitting rock bottom, there's only one other option. She claws her way out of Ben Horne's shadow and saves herself.





	Still Made of Gold

**Author's Note:**

> season 2 audrey got shafted: an essay by me. Anyways I wanted to write something where she gets to full her dream of being an FBI agent. 
> 
> Pete is her new dad because I love him and he seems lonely. 
> 
> The whole fake death thing doesn't really come out bc well.... ummmmm idontreallylikethatplotpoint
> 
> Josie was also shafted by the show i'll have to write something for her @ some point

After everything at One Eyed Jack’s Audrey decides that maybe, she never loved her father to begin with. It’s an odd conclusion to come too, but it makes sense. Listening in on a private meeting, ruining his plans, and wanting to punch him whenever he spoke. 

She’d always considered it as a possibility, either that or she was in love with him. At least now she knows that she’s not in love with him. That’s one positive, considering how fucked up her life is at the moment. 

It’s a sick joke, after being assaulted, drugged, and almost killed she finds out she has one more problem: she hates her father. 

Well, after everything, how could she not. 

\---

She gets a job at Horne’s Department Store. It’s in the hardware department since she can’t stomach being anywhere near the perfume section.

It takes a little bribery, yet she finds herself working under Jacob Stone. He’s brash, mean, and extremely knowledgeable about everything Audrey doesn’t know, which is mostly the specifics of hardware. 

She spends the first week annoying her boss, her customers, and herself. Pete Martell is the only person who comes to hardware and is willing to let her fumble through her job. 

He only comes to buy new fish hooks, but ends up taking an hour to explain the differences between nuts and bolts. 

She is Ben Horne’s daughter, and nothing if not cunning enough to figure out the hardware section. She takes a book out from the Twin Peaks Library and asks her customers leading questions. Mr. Stone yells at her, but hidden in those rants are valuable information she can use. 

She takes something Blackie told her and puts it too good use. It’s a vague, smoky memory like most of hers from One Eyed Jack’s. 

“Do more than grit your teeth, smile with them.” She can learn from people she hates. 

\---

Dick Tremayne takes a liking to her. Not a creepy liking, at least from what she can tell. He is almost, weirdly parental. 

He calls away Mr. Stone during one of his rants and winks at Audrey when she gives a sigh of relief. He only comes in when little Andy is looking for more contraptions to create. He’s taking well to being a father, even if Lucy ends up turning him down.

With her job and school, she sees him more than she does Cooper. 

She misses her special agent and goes looking for him around town when she has the chance. She sees him sometimes walking around town with Sheriff Truman, or chatting with Norma and the R&R. 

She doesn’t reach out to him or talk to him when she sees him. He saw everything, and yet she can’t help but be embarrassed. She should have been stronger or better. She could have done more than prayed too him.

She pulls her gaze away from him and makes eye contact with the floor. She should never have gone in the first place. Trying to be good always ends up screwing her over. 

\---

Her father focuses on keeping track of her. He checks in with Mr. Stone, asks her where she'll be going whenever she goes out. It’s almost like he cares about her, in a sick sort of way.

He might want to fuck her. He probably just wants to avoid another incident. He’s already in hot enough water with One Eyed Jack’s being under investigation.

If he’s lucky, the place will only get shut down. If she’s lucky, they’ll trace it back to him and shut him down. 

As usual, Ben Horne is just clever and vile enough to stay clear while his daughter struggles to stay clean. 

\---

Pete offers to take her fishing. He claims that she’s gone on about it enough that she’s probably an expert by now. 

She’s far past the point of relying on him to teach her the ropes of hardware. He still comes to talk and listen to her complain. She agrees to go fishing since he seems a little lonely if he spends his time talking to her. 

They go fishing on a Sunday when almost everyone else is still asleep. They go fishing near the Packard home, right next to where Laura was murdered. For the first half hour of Pete’s fishing, she’s convinced he won’t bring it up. 

When he does, his voice goes soft and low. All he tells her is:

“I used to fish a little down the beach, but well.” He huffs up, his face turning a little red. He focuses on his lure, not making eye contact with Audrey. 

He does not treat her as the stuck up town princess. He doesn’t seem to care about her scarlet letter either. She likes that. 

She decides, that she doesn’t exactly mind being Audrey Horne, she just hates being Ben’s daughter. 

She doesn’t say it aloud, of course, instead, she just stands and casts. She ends up throwing her rod into the water with the force of muscles she didn’t even notice she had. 

Pete laughs of course, and months ago she would have run and left. Now, she just chuckles, retrieves her rod, and focuses on the water in her shoes. It centers her, calms her, and makes her feel real again. 

Pete casts again, to show her how. She grins and squashes down the self-hate bubbling up in her chest. 

“Better luck next time.” He tells her, and she gives a half laugh. There will be a next time. 

\---

Her father’s friend flirts with her. He’s well dressed, charming, and older than her. She almost refuses to give him the time of day when she first meets him. 

She straightens her back, smiles big and wide, only to spill out the words “I’m busy.” 

It’s the truth, but he goes by Jack and works for her father. There was no way they were ever going to work. He wants her, she won’t let herself want him. 

He even seems like the heartbreaker type, so she’s not surprised when he turns out to be. 

\---

It rains on Sunday and Pete takes her to the Packard residence for chess instead of fishing. He is resolute in his claim that fishing in the rain takes all the joy out of it. 

Josie is there, sitting in a chair at the corner of the room. She smiles faintly at Audrey, that same vacant one she gives everyone but Sheriff Truman.

Pete goes to get his favorite board, one of Andrew Packard’s old ones. It has ivory pieces and everything. Audrey is left sitting by Josie, victim to her seemingly all-knowing stare. 

Josie stands and takes Audrey’s hand in hers. She looks deeper into Audrey’s eyes, more understanding than pitying. 

“I know what happened.” Four words that make Audrey want to run into the woods. She, as usual, wants to run and leave everything behind. 

“Your body is a weapon, and your mind is also a weapon.” Her voice shakes slightly but there is no mistaking her point.

“You are the bullet and the gun.” The idea is not one Audrey likes, she does not want to be a weapon. Yet there is something comforting about it, the freedom to do what she wants. 

She grins at Josie, who returns it with a presentness reserved mostly for Pete and Truman.

\---

Truman calls her in because they need to ask her a few questions. She's both terrified and thrilled at the chance to tell him about her father. 

He is as he always is: tired, kind, and looking as if he had just walked out of a three-day fishing trip. He asks her in the conference room if she ever learned who runs One Eyed Jack’s. She shudders, and in a soft voice, she tells him she isn’t sure. 

“I only saw Blackie.” He sees right through that but doesn’t press her for more. He shifts his position and speaks after one of his best-disappointed father voice sighs.

“Alright Audrey, you can go. If you remember anything, even if it’s a small detail, please tell us. It’ll help.” She sees herself jumping off the falls by the Great Northern rather than telling him. Her father is her father, she owes him to stay silent at least.

As she walks out she spots Agent Cooper chatting with Lucy at the desk. A smile graces his features, mirroring hers. Audrey’s lips are pursed, angry at something she can not identify. She drifts closer to him but doesn’t dare draw attention to herself. 

She’s halfway out the door when she hears Cooper call her name. She keeps walking and pretends as if she hadn’t heard it. 

\---

Audrey spends that night talking with her father. He rattles on about the hotel, who’s leaving early and who are causing problems. 

She doesn’t want to be there, talking with her father. Every time she looks at him, she sees him in One Eyed Jack's. How did she never notice the starving hunger in his eyes for every pleasure he could get his hands on.

She forces herself to watch Johnny. He is the innocent aftermath of her dreadful personality. It’s punishment for everything she’s done. She considers leaving town, dropping off the map and never talking to anyone. 

It’s a perfect idea until she thinks of Cooper. Her special agent, who always does the right thing even when it hurts him. He’s a selfless person, a self-sacrificing person, and a good person. She wants so desperately to be like him; to be good. 

She has to tell Truman, she can’t let her father escape scot free. She’ll put justice before herself, just like Cooper. After that, she can drop off the map once the business is settled. 

She watches her brother, listens to her father, and comes to the conclusion that this life is her punishment. She has to stand up to everything, no matter how much it hurts. She ruined it, and now only she can make it any better. 

\---

Cooper finds her the next morning as she stares into her heavily sugary coffee. She’d hoped that he would have avoided her. He takes the seat next to her, a mug of black coffee in hand. 

“Audrey, what’s wrong? I’ve barely seen or heard you.” She doesn’t want to answer, so she ignores the root cause of everything: shame. 

“I’ve just been feeling a little listless is all.” He frowns and takes a sip. She turns away and stares down the table. 

“Truman called you in yesterday, did you have any new information on the case.” He ignores her attempts to flee and gets the answer he deserves. 

“I know who runs One Eyed Jack’s.” She mutters and he places his coffee down. He’s so excited she almost wants to lie and say Jerry instead. 

“Ben Horne.” She says because her mouth refuses to make the connection and say “My Father”. He frowns and stands, so she follows. 

He calls the Sheriff’s office and tells Truman. She isn’t sure how Truman’s reacting, but Cooper is angry. Maybe at Truman, maybe at Ben, maybe at her. 

She leaves before the call is done, desperate for a place to hide. So she goes to the woods since there is nowhere else to avoid company in town. 

\---

Someone is cutting wood, so as long as the noise is there she can trace her way out of the woods. She sits in the dirt and prays for everything to go away. Let it all be over and done with, the shame, the guilt, and the stares. 

The universe does not answer.

She wants to scream, how unfair everything is. Why her of all people! She feels far more guilty after that. 

She stands up and ignores the thought to pray for all of that to be taken back. She follows the sound of chopping wood to Bobby Briggs in his parent’s backyard. He looks to her, and something indiscernible dances across his face. She waves at him and quickly, making his way to the main road.

There’s a truck speeding down the road, and she thinks about walking into its path. She steps forward as it draws near. The truck screeches to a halt and a pair of familiar voices call out to her. 

Truman and Cooper look to her, and for the first time, she does not want to run away. She stands still, waiting for life to catch up to her. 

\---

At the station, everything is different. Truman is drawing up charges. Andy is making hot cocoa since he insists it is the best comfort drink. Lucy is calling Pete to make arrangements for Audrey. Hawk is on duty to make sure that no one else has a problem, and Cooper is doing his best to comfort Audrey.

She does not want to talk about it, so she doesn’t. Cooper sits with her, sharing the uncomfortable silence. 

The truth is out and she is stuck in the aftermath. 

“I’m sorry”, is all she can say to which Cooper turns to her, almost offended. Of course, Sorry isn’t enough, it never is. 

“Audrey, this isn’t your fault!” Logically, she knows that’s right, but she could have done so much more. 

“I know, it just doesn't feel like it.” Cooper hugs her because it says so much more than saving or anything else he could do. 

Audrey isn’t in love with him anymore, but she loves him all the same. With his arms around her, she feels utterly, resoundingly forgiven for whatever sins she thinks are hers. 

\---

She moves into the Packard’s house, where Josie’s ghost hangs in every silence. She is gone, and the whole town is finally aware of who she really was. 

Audrey sits in her chair and watches Pete make coffee in the space she left behind. Pete is a Martell and Audrey a Horne in the house the Packards had fought for and failed to die in. 

Pete brings her a cup of coffee, full of milk and sugar just like his. He doesn’t talk about Ben Horne or his wife, but he’ll talk about Josie. He sips his coffee alongside Audrey and tells her about how he ended up growing to love her. 

“She was family. I only wish I could have helped her.” He sniffles and stares into his drink. Audrey hugs him then, in the same way, Cooper hugged her. 

Josie was wrong, she thinks, a body and a mind don’t have to be weapons.

\---

Denise is the one who tells her to join the FBI. Denise is everything she wants to be and more than she ever could. She’s smart, beautiful, funny, and one of the best on the force. 

Audrey knows she could never be that, but Denise pulls her aside anyways. 

“Miss. Horne, I heard what you did.” Audrey turns away, her cheeks flushing a little at the praise. 

“Have you considered joining the FBI, we need strong girls like you.” Audrey wants to say, she’s not that strong. She has a few muscles from her job, but it took her weeks to tell Cooper the truth. 

Denise just smiles when Audrey says that she’ll think about it. 

“You’d be better than half the agents we have.” Audrey knows it’s a generalization, but she can’t help hoping there’s some truth to it. 

\---

Bobby Briggs comes into Horne’s Department Store hardware section, looking for a new toolset. She points out everything perfectly and even tells him to buy a second flat head because the one in the box isn’t that good. 

She carries the deliveries and manages not to break more than a sweat. Mr. Stone comes out to survey her progress only to be shocked that she doesn’t need the help she used too. 

The next day, Major Briggs comes in looking for fishing gear. Mr. Stone is about to show him, but he asks for her. She tells him about which flies have worked best for her. 

“You are a very remarkable young woman.” He tells her, and with a smile she says,

“Thank you.” She glows under his praise and doesn’t grit her teeth as she does it. 

\---

She returns to the sheriff’s department and pulls Denise aside. Denise shoots her a concerned look but listens to what Audrey has to say.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said, and well- I’ve always wanted to be an FBI agent.” She blushes deeply but doesn’t look away from Denise. 

Denise beams and claps Audrey on the shoulder. 

“I’ll help you apply.” 

Audrey can’t help but smile at that. She walks out of the station and looks around her little town. Just a bit more time and she gets to see the world. 

She thinks of her father, the greedy little man pretending to be king of his tiny world. Everything is about to come crashing down around him. She somehow smiles wider. 

\---

Hawk shows her the best running paths. He learns, somehow, that she’s thinking of applying. He’s solid and kind if a little blunt. He reminds her of Cooper, the polar opposite of her father. 

She runs before school and pukes when she turns the corner to the halfway point. She heaves for a while and gasps for air before walking home instead of running. She goes home and calls in sick from the comfort of her bedroom. 

The next morning, when guiltily walking her way to school she sees Hawk. He meets her eyes, and she turns away. He walks up to her and smiles. His voice is soft but solid when he speaks. 

“It’ll take a while, but you’ll get the hang of it.” Neither of them needs to specify what he’s saying, it’s clear enough as the elephant in the room. 

The next day, Audrey runs the trail again. She barfs out her guts again, and stand there, considering giving up. 

She thinks of Hawk and his advice, his reserve somehow melting into hers. She wipes her mouth with a handkerchief she thought ahead to bring. She keeps on running and finishes running the path. 

She walks to school already late, exhausted and anything but defeated. 

\---

She’s fishing with Pete and casts off farther than him. 

He laughs his joyful laughs which she joins in on. She’s been getting stronger lately. She’s more determined than ever to join the FBI. 

The fish still like Pete better, to his over the top enjoyment. All of that is out of her control, and she’s learning to live with that. 

Pete cooks up the trout she caught for dinner, waxing poor poetic about how delicious it was going to be. At dinner that night, he refuses to stop talking about how tasty it is. 

She says thank you and eats her fill. He’s a good replacement guardian and a better fish cook. 

She wants to thank him for everything, the fishing trips and him taking her in. She makes playful insults and jokes through mouthfuls of their shared bounty. He taught her to fish, and somehow, she ended up being good at it. 

It is his bounty just as much as it is hers. She hopes he gets the message of how much she cares; and how much she loves him. 

He jokes back at her, his voice full of light and life. This is what if feels like to have a father who cares. If she had any doubt of whether or not Ben loves her, she knows now. 

He doesn’t love her, and without a doubt Pete does. 

\---

She finds Cooper waiting at the start of her trail. He smiles when he sees her dressed in her running gear. She’s started wearing more practical clothing now, with all the training she was doing. 

“Hawk told me you ran here.” she grins at him and ties her shoes. 

“He told me this was the best path to take.” She shrugs and stands up stretching her legs a little. 

“It’s a bit of a rough patch.” He smirks slightly and starts running down the path. She almost pauses, before shaking her head and chasing after him. 

It is a rough path, and she still stops to dry heave halfway through the run. At least she doesn’t spit anything up, but that might have to do with her empty stomach. 

Cooper, of course, does the course much faster, even in his crisp black suit. It’s still sharp by the time she turns the last corner and sees him standing there, checking the time on his watch. 

She feels that age-old anger at losing, at not being good enough, claw its way up her throat. It only stops when she sees him smiling at her from the exit. He hadn’t even noticed it was a competition. 

She wants to cry, or bang her head on something; she doesn’t. She takes a deep breath and walks to school with him, trying to figure out how to forgive herself for the overreaction. 

\---

The drag her father into jail kicking a screaming. It’s pathetic and makes her want to puke. She keeps the bile in her stomach as best she can when she sees him in the station.

She is speaking with Lucy when it happens, just chatting the day away waiting for Denise to help her find the right wording for her application. She likes Lucy since she lets her clamber over the desk when she hears her father shouting. 

Truman and Hawk drag him in, clearly exhausted by his raving and ranting. They have him in handcuffs which Truman is holding with one hand and rubbing his forehead with the other. 

Ben sees Audrey from where she’s using Lucy as a tiny human meat shield. Audrey is taller than Lucy, even though Lucy is older than she is. 

He shouts her name and calls out “Audrey” as loudly as he can. There’s more venom in that one word then she has ever heard from him.

He rushes her and manages to take Truman by surprise, ripping the cuffs from his grip. His hair is wild and his glasses are nowhere to be seen. Lucy glares daggers at him and fully places herself in front of Audrey. 

“You did this to me!” He shouts at Audrey, and she stares him down. The bullfighter without a cape vs the vicious beast. 

Truman pulls Ben back with both hands this time as Hawk grabs her father by the arm. They pull him away from the desk and towards the cells. Lucy furrows her brows and looks to Audrey.

“You know, I hope he rots.” The words seem foreign in her peppy tone. She’s never seen Lucy this angry, and she knows her father deserves the full weight of this woman’s anger. Of her anger. 

“We will.” She offers, and Lucy grabs her hand, a knight in a butterfly sweater. 

\---

Pete jokes around at dinner and she refuses to join in. She barely touches his bass, instead, she opts for staring at her plate and pushing the food around. 

“I heard what happened.” He starts and she clams up. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” The words tumble out of her and she’s worried they came out overlapped instead of separate. He seems to understand when he stands up and listens to her request. 

He takes one more bite of his dinner before pushing it away and starting to speak. 

“Chess and dessert?” He asks and she nods. He leaves the room and she takes the dishes to the sink. After putting her mostly eaten dinner in a Tupperware and then the fridge she does the dishes. 

It makes her think of the Great Northern, where they’d just send their dirty dishes in with the kitchen staff to clean. 

Pete returns to the board and they play chess wither her still absent-minded. Pete wins every match, as usual. With his skill level, she hadn’t stood a chance anyway. 

She doesn’t sleep well that night, memories of her old life seep into every crevice of her mind. 

\---

Truman is at her running spot the next morning. He’s in his usual outfit, with the shagginess of his hair a little worse than usual. He’s clearly not had his coffee yet, he manages to be a comforting sight. 

“I wanted to talk to you about Mr. Horne.” He doesn't say ‘your father’, and she almost thanks him for it. 

“We have a hell of a case against him, all thanks to you”. He motions to her at his line. 

“I’m sure you would have gotten him anyways.” Audrey offers to cause Truman to take a step closer to her. 

“No, you really put this one way. So, on behalf of all of Twin Peaks, thank you. It’s difficult to do that.” She shrugs and purses her lips.

“He didn’t care about me.” 

“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard.” She tucks her hair behind her ear at that and smiles at Truman. 

\---

She passes her finals, but just barely. It’s two weeks of non-stop studying. She doesn’t see Pete much, even while living with him.

Cooper and Truman are another story. She barely catches glimpses of them on her way to and from work. 

At first Mr. stone lets her work half hours with half pay until a visit from Mr. Tremayne. He shows up, talks with her boss, and suddenly she’s being paid overtime. 

After her last test, the math final she spent so many sleepless nights on, she sits in the back of the school The summer air clings to her sticky skin. 

This is it, if she wants to go to Quantico at some point, she has to at least graduate High School. 

Bobby Briggs walks out to the back of the school and sees her sitting there. He takes a seat on the stairs next to her. 

She fishes a pack of cigarettes from her back pocket, and he produces a lighter after they light their cigs and take a slow drag, Bobby starts talking. 

“I think I failed.” She turns to him and frowns. 

“You’ll pass. You said it before, that your dad had some crazy premonition.” He gives a shaky exhale. 

“Yeah, well I’m starting to think he was crazy.” His now glassy eyes stay focused on the forest ahead of them. The sun is sinking low down, casting the woods in orange and black. 

“Bobby Briggs.” He says his own name and laughs. “How did I ever think I could be more than a shitty high school dropout. I’m just going to end up like Leo.” He growls at that and forms a fist with his empty hand. He slams it right into his thigh, startling Audrey a little. 

“You’ll end up okay Bobby. Even if you drop out because you are nothing like Leo. But, you won’t fail.” She sounds so certain of herself Bobby’s hand relaxes and he takes a drag of his cigarette.

“I try so fucking hard to be good. To be-” He says to himself and lowers his voice when he finishes his sentence. 

“Like you.” Audrey pauses and drops her cigarette in the dirt by mistake. She snuffs it out with the boot of her heel. 

“You don’t get it, do you? You put Ben Horne away! The whole case is based on your testimony.” She thinks of the upcoming trial and shudders. Bobby looks at her now and meets her eyes as she replies. 

“It’s not as great as you make it sound.” Bobby snaps his cigarette in his hand before he forces out an answer full of anger. 

“He deserves everything that’s coming! You don’t owe anyone anything even if he’s your father.” She smiles at that and stands. 

“You’ll pass Bobby.” She thinks of her own chances and grimaces. She spent half the year in recovery and now, this is her last chance to salvage her grades.

“You’ll get into the FBI.” He tells her as sincere as he can manage. It’s the most genuine emotion she’s seen out of him since Laura’s funeral. He reaches out and shakes her hand, an odd motion that causes Audrey to pause. 

“It’s been great knowing you.” He says when she doesn’t reply. She’ll see him again, probably the next day, but it’s a goodbye all the same. 

“It’s been a pleasure, Mr. Briggs.” She hands him another cigarette and leaves him there. Her heart sinks with dread as she walks away from the school and into the summer dark. Bobby lights up, takes a drag, and considers the specifics of his shaky future. 

\---

Audrey sits on her porch, watching the waves splash on the beach where they found Laura Palmer last winter. 

It’s been a long, hard, confusing year. It’s killed more people than the rest of her life put together. Ever since she was young her life had been a single path with only one way out. Become the new manager of all Horne properties or ruin herself before it could happen. 

She had imagined a thousand ways of rebelling. Sneaking into the night, stealing all her father’s money, burning down the Great Northern, burning herself alive. Only now do these ideas come back into the forefront of her mind, as a way out of the future she wants. 

Cooper joins her out on the porch. She’s started thinking of Pete’s house as her own. He’s happy, she can tell. He’s proud of the teenage girl he’s only now started calling his daughter. 

Cooper seems content if the light smile on his face is anything to go by. It’s far more subdued than earlier that day, but still there. 

“When do you leave?” Cooper asks because she got in. The path she wants is spread out in front of her. 

She doesn’t know what to do. 

“The end of summer.” She says as she still looks out over the ocean. The stars are sparkling in the water making it look like the start of spring when all the ice is starting to break. 

“You’ll do good there.” He offers, and she hears herself sigh. 

“It doesn’t feel like it. I’ve worked so hard for this but now? I have the chance to follow my dreams and I can’t take a step.” Audrey sees him frown and she turns just to see it. 

“I understand. The joy of success is gone and you’re left feeling like you don’t deserve it.” She opens her mouth to speak but he cuts her off. 

“You do deserve it.” He says emphatically, grabs her hand, and squeezes it. All her contradictory thoughts leave her mind right there and then. 

She blushes and looks to the edge of the beach. The ocean laps at the rocks, the bugs buzz around in the humid air, and Cooper breaths steady and safe beside her. 

“Sometimes,” She starts and pauses for a moment, almost unsure of whether or not to speak her mind. She mulls over the words for a moment before speaking again. “Our best attempts at self-sabotage fail, and everything ends up working out anyway.” 

He laughs slightly and stays silent for a moment.

“I’m so proud of you Audrey, and you are going to do great things.” She takes in his words with the rest of Twin Peaks. It’s the town that made her, it built her up and broke her down again. She can’t help but hope that she’ll find a place somewhere in the enormity of the world. She’ll always have a place with the people who saved her. 

No, the people who helped her save herself.


End file.
